For best-selling authors Les and Leslie Parrott, conflict can be the price tag a couple pays to grow closer together. The key is how a couple handles the argument, which ultimately can determine the success — or failure — of a marriage.

The Parrotts will discuss the differences between good and bad fights Sept. 20 at the "Fight Night" date night in Jackson.

Noting that the event is for all couples, Leslie said she and her husband, Les, approach "Fight Night" with a fun tone, with the evening designed to make people laugh while learning.

With the release of their book "The Good Fight: How Conflict Can Bring You Closer" in April 2013, Leslie, a marriage and family therapist, said she and Les were motivated to share the "growing mountain" of research about fighting within a marriage — including the fact that a marriage's success can be based on the way a couple handles conflict with more than a 90 percent accuracy rate.

Leslie said a good fight is a win-win for a couple, with both individuals feeling stronger, more resilient and more intimately connected after the fight is resolved. After a bad fight, however, a couple feels distant from each other, with more pride, more blame and less ownership as result.

"What we want is the best connection a couple can have," Leslie noted.

Les, a licensed clinical psychologist, said attendees should view the event as a "date night" rather than a marriage seminar. He noted that "Fight Night" isn't about guilt or blame, as everyone should leave feeling upbeat.

"It's really designed for couples of any age or stage, whether starting off together or married decades, doing well or struggling," said Les, who noted that people will leave with practical tools to apply in their own marriage.

"Fight Night" will be held at 7 p.m. at the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel at Union University. The event will include two "rounds" of discussions, with an intermission in between.

Admission is $25 per ticket, or $40 per couple. For more information, call (731) 422-4002 or visit www.lesandleslie.com.